Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you?

[Rui]

I have nothing better to do so I thought it might be interesting to create a completely informal survey to learn more about how everyone views the streaming services in the UK these days. The idea came from the discussions in the Animax and Summer Season threads and the pointless new US-only initiative to promote streaming services. I'm leaving the topic here to stop those other threads being dragged down further by my moaning (and in case any of the streaming companies want to do some free market research).

Feel free to add more questions or skip some; these are just the ones I thought up during the ads while watching Bakumatsu Rock this evening >_>

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!

R

 

[Rui]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

I didn't mean to write so many questions, sorry. Here are my thoughts now I've had time to return after the first post ^^;

1. I use all of the active ones other than Netflix, and I've tried (and given up on) most of the ones which are no longer with us (or no longer relevant, like Viki).

2. I pay for Crunchyroll and two overseas services. And Nico Nico Douga, which I guess counts on a technicality. I hate ads (and waiting, where subscribers get early access) but I don't want to subscribe to a bunch of sites just for one or two mediocre shows, so I don't pay for the others. Some sites don't offer a subscription or don't make it worthwhile in terms of incentives, which is a shame.

3. I really like that my Crunchyroll money is supporting the shows I actually like, and it feels like my viewing matters more that way. I think it's also important that the US (and therefore, by extension, the UK) companies have stated that they monitor the legal streams to decide whether a show will get a dub, a BD release or a special edition - every viewer matters when it comes to supporting titles and getting them decent releases later on. In a perverse way, I like the fact that my bad taste in anime matters more to the industry than people with good taste who don't show support.

4. Crunchyroll. It's not even close. It is the only one of the services the UK gets which actually handles simulcasts decently, even if it has a few areas which could be improved on (like the Haikyuu!! and Gifuu Doudou subtitles, which are actually unintelligible at times).

5. It sucks and I hate it.

6. No. I have to keep a list. I can usually memorise it but this season I'm watching too many shows and keeping track of what's available each day gives me a headache when it's all spread out. How many fans in the UK actually check Daisuki, Viewster and the other less popular sites before assuming something is unavailable? It's unreasonable.

7. Not in many years, though I find it a shame when I have to watch on a site with a bad player or no iOS app instead of one I have full access to.

8. I usually miss out, unless I've been looking forward to it for ages in which case I will find a way around the restrictions. I'm strict about only doing so in a way which satisfies me morally. It's laughable that it's actually a lot harder to be this way than it is to resort to piracy.

9. Nothing. But I added this question because it's a very real issue the industry should be asking about, especially for people in regions with even more problems with legal distribution than the UK gets

10. I am less likely to buy terrible shows if I've seen them streaming, but to be honest I don't usually buy terrible shows anyway. I will often pay more more for a fancy release if I've had a chance to check something out and determined that I really do like it as much as I thought I would. I've also occasionally found gems I wouldn't have taken a chance on as a blind buy but ended up liking enough to want to own, and series which never benefit from having a legal stream don't get this opportunity to win me over.

11. Yes. It's actually one of the biggest reasons I finally switched to preferring BDs. Paying for a substantially worse-looking copy of something I've seen doesn't seem right.

12. Yes! Not everyone has the language of the country they're in as their first language. I love that some of the international sites have multiple subtitle languages as an option. As for dubs, I don't watch any myself, but dubbing anime to appeal to a wider audience then hiding it away makes no sense. Let's get as many of those dubbed shows available online in bilingual form as possible to brainwash new fans on platforms like Netflix and Crunchyroll in the UK. Animax is getting the dub catalogue part right but they need to work on their access strategy.

13. Critically important. I don't have time to skim Facebook pages to try to work out when things are going up; it's unprofessional not to have a set plan and casual customers aren't going to hang around if they watch up to the latest episode with no word on when they'll be able to see more.

14. Some delays are understandable but when it happens often, or isn't communicated well, it's really annoying.

15. I am not interested in paying for simulcasts which go up after they do in the US. I don't care about the logistics - the entire point of streaming is to watch things before being spoilered or missing out on the online debates, for me. Since I'm a collector, if I want to watch things late I may as well visit my BD shelves and see the final home video versions.

16. Not important at all, but I appreciate the fact that they're on offer and they're invaluable for newer fans.

17. Streaming; the hassle of transferring DTO files removes the spontaneity of watching an episode of something to kill some time. Historically DTO services have had issues with compatibility too, though at least Wakanim understands that.

18. I dabble in Crunchyroll's and bought one book on Renta (which has some really cool titles despite its obscurity), but I'm still mostly stuck on books. Simulpubs like Shounen Jump would definitely appeal if they had titles I was interested in; the fact that we can read Attack On Titan legally in good time is a wonderful thing. I think that region locking on ebooks is stupid when real books have never been locked.

19. Pressure the powers that be to bring it all worldwide and stop treating paying customers like bargaining tools to chop the world into arbitrary territories. There'll still be a piracy problem but at least those of us with the money and desire to support will be able to, that way, instead of being left looking like idiots next to illegal downloaders. Also, please stop reinventing the wheel with more and more new websites and fancy players; I want to see the services we have consolidating their energy better so that people know where they can find things rather than making things more confusing with each passing season.

And to the companies with streaming rights in regions where they're not making a legal stream available: please stop doing that.

R

 

[Ath]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

I'll give this a bash. I've just had a power nap and am a little woozy, so apologies if I ramble a bit.

1. I use Crunchyroll as my main dedicated anime service and Netflix as my main general streaming service. I tolerate Wakanim for the series they have and used NicoNico for the first episode of Sailor Moon Crystal (but due to it being me, haven't watched any more). I do not use the others.

2. I subscribe to Crunchyroll and Netflix, I think both offer good value for money. I prefer the subscription model over ad-supported when it comes to streaming as I feel HD content, no ads and quick simulcasting are worth the money...if the price is right. I don't want to have too many subscriptions though as that will be quite expensive.

3. Ideally more money should go to the actual animators and creative team and less to executives but this is unworkable Otherwise I can't say I've really thought about the split.

4. Netflix is by far the best streaming service out there. It's available on almost every device I own, the interface is smooth and easy to navigate no matter the platform, the quality of streams are excellent and there's a good selection of titles. Of the dedicated anime streamers, Crunchyroll are my preferred option. They mostly bring out new episodes like clockwork and the PS3 app works quite well for me. The web based player isn't the best on my old laptop, but it's still decent.

5. I want options. The more the better. Being locked out due to my territory annoys me.

6. The guides on the forums are invaluable to me in this regard! It used to be easy, but the likes of Animax and Wakanim have muddied the waters, especially with the communication issues those two seem to have (Wakanim are getting better here though).

7. There hasn't been a site that I cannot use yet. However, sites that are such a struggle to use that I just can't be bothered anymore are a different story...

8. I take a flight to another region if we're blocked out on Crunchyroll or Netflix. If it's on something like Funimation, I can't be bothered though. Before I would just watch rips and/or fansubs but now I just wouldn't watch it. I've got enough to watch legally that I just don't need to go that route anymore for now.

9. Before, it was simply a lack of money as a result of being a poor student. Now that I have a job and this is no longer an issue, I've stopped. However this has only really been possible thanks to legal options becoming more accessible to me.

10. A stream is a very useful tool in helping me decide what I want to own. Ultimately the quality of the show itself decides whether I want to own something on disc, and what better way to make that decision than by...errrr watching the show itself. If I never had the chance to see it streaming and I'm blind buying, it will depend on A) Impressions of the show B) How much it appeals to my personal taste C) Whether I think it's worth a punt based on the price and value proposition.

11. Yes. HD is the bare minimum I expect of any new media nowadays and it should be standard. Case-by-case in certain situations though but that'd be digressing.

12. Absolutely, I consider each language to be a different take on the material and the more options the better.

13. If a service promotes itself as offering weekly simulcasts, I expect to know exactly when those episodes will be put up, so yes. Less of an issue with Netflix when they just put everything up at once.

14. I understand that the chaotic nature of anime production can often lead to last second delays. Crunchyroll generally seem to do a good job at getting things out on time, so that's my general baseline. If the delays aren't down to content delivery delays and are purely the fault of the streaming service, then I have a problem.

15. This is very important to me. If it shows up on another service in an English speaking territory, I want to be able to watch it at the same time.

16. Big catalogues are always better. I hesitated on a Crunchyroll subscription until I felt that the catalogue was a decent size. As I keep stressing, I want options.

17. I am not a fan of download-to-own. I don't like the piecemeal nature of paying per episode, which is generally of a higher cost.

18. I subscribe to both Weekly Shonen Jump and Crunchyroll Manga. Weekly Shonen Jump is cheap, but the current Jump lineup isn't particularly inspiring and I find having to download all 200+ pages of an issue cumbersome. CR Manga has quite a few titles I like and the Android app is decent. Still a lot of work to be done here though, I'd like more titles to be available.

19. We should have as many options to watch as possible. People who prefer DTO should have that ability. People who prefer Animax to Crunchyroll should have the ability to use both and pick their preference. I want to watch on my laptop, my phone, my PS3, my sister's Chromecast, whatever is available to me. I will pay for what I think is a fair price for convenience, quality and timeliness, but ad-supported free streaming options should always be an alternative option.

I'll finish off by saying that I love streaming. It's a great supplement to buying home video and gives me so much more choice to watch things. I just don't ever want it to REPLACE home video!

 

[reborn]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

...the pointless new US-only initiative to promote streaming services.

Which seems to be mainly focusing on China...

To answer some of the questions:

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?
I use Animax UK, Wakanim, Daisuki, Nico Nico and YouTube. Netflix and Viewster need to expand their catalogue. Wakanim I would use more if the shows were on Thursday/on-time. Daisuki - i'm trying out but the subtitles are difficult to read (need to be bigger and stand out more).

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?
Animax UK, I've got some of the catalogue shows backlogged and also Netflix. I would have probably chose Crunchyroll over Animax in terms of which is the better for overall content but I refuse to use Paypal and last I tried, my card for some reason is not supported. I contacted Crunchyroll and they told me to use Paypal. Animax is showing some slight improvement for now so i'm happy to support at the moment but once i've finished the catalogue titles - i'm not quite sure if i'll remain with a subscription.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?
I don't really consider anyone of them special in what they do. I suppose in one view, YouTube is helpful because you can edit the styling of subtitles as long as they're not within the video itself but the player doesn't always want to work. Animax, it needs to improve on communication and getting videos up on time. Wakanim, site design and getting videos up on time. Daisuki - subtitles! Nico Nico - video quality and making the site somewhat more English friendly.

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?
I would prefer where a service or 2 cover all the needs rather than 3+ which all have their own qualities. Animax and Wakanim should be forming partnerships with Manga, MVM and Anime Limited. While its good the shows are on Netflix, Lovefilm, Blinkbox etc - they should be showing support towards these platforms as well and working together to promote each other.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?
Animax needs to sort out its navigation. I like Daisuki's approach which is having a page dedicated to info and linking from Twitter & Facebook plus the addition of a Calendar.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?
Depends. If its on DVD, the price is right and its something I want to watch, i'm more likely to buy it. Otherwise it'll be illegal means.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?
From a few series I can think of, its because I originally started watching them illegally at a time and I didn't have the DVDs - may be due to price or no license announcement. In the case of one series - I wanted to buy the DVDs because of watching via illegal methods.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?
If I enjoyed it, i'll likely buy it as long as I have the funds and the price is right. If I didn't have a chance to see it streaming, then it'll be be more difficult as i'll need to have more of an idea for it.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?
Yes. All simulcasts which have a dub but not licensed in the UK should be available for streaming. If a show is cancelled mis-release, a simulcast option should be available.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?
14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?
15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?
Depends on the show. Anything on Animax apart from Fairy Tail - I don't stick to a schedule. As for Wakanim & Fairy Tail - there are days and times when I would prefer to watch them.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?
Streaming at the moment.

 

[kuuderes_shadow]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?
Yes. If an anime is available legally, I'll watch it legally or I won't watch it at all.

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?
Crunchyroll's subscription fee is obviously the best value because of the sheer amount of content. It's also the only one I currently have. It's not worth my while to get a subscription to Animax for one series which I might not watch all of anyway. Wakanim has even less to justify it. Netflix is a definite no as I don't watch live action stuff, and the rest don't have a subscription service.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?
I like the idea that the things that I watch get the money I spend. That said, the series I like would probably get more if it weren't for that as they tend not to be the most popular ones. Then again, with a different system, they probably wouldn't have been picked up in the first place.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?
Crunchyroll. Even after the somewhat questionable website redesign, the site is still the most user-friendly, there's the widest selection of stuff, with the highest video quality and the most reliable episode upload times (even with the ongoing yama no susume fiasco...). Wakanim keeps shifting me onto low quality every time I watch a new episode, and Animax seems to shift me down to the middle quality (which is crap) in the middle of an episode at times. Daisuki and viewster don't seem to have options to change it at all. Plus CR has the community aspect to it as well, which is non-existant in the others (the wakanim forums are dead, and youtube comments is not community)

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?
A lot of viewster's and daisuki's anime are also available on crunchyroll? Personally I'd rather I could get all my stuff in one place, but it isn't going to happen. There are too many vested interests that prevent it, on every level.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?
Yes. I don't watch anything until about a week into the series, and then quickly grow accustomed to a specific time of the week when each series will be available to me. CR's countdown timer makes this easy, of course, but even without that I find this a fairly simple matter.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?
With anime, no. Unless you count the stuff that funimation has the rights to the UK for but didn't make it available. It really pisses me off when a manga/LN is released in e-book format only, though but that's kind of besides the point for the sake of this thread...

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?
Illegal fansubs. I have a set of rules though - that I must switch to a legal source as soon as one becomes available and that, if I complete the series, I must buy any manga/LN source material that the series has. If it has no manga/LN source material, I must buy any UK release that the series later gets. If at any stage I decide that I wouldn't want to do this thing, I must drop the series. This does not apply to OVAs/specials.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?
I haven't done this since Ika Musume, which I watched a month after I found out about the existance of CR. This was about 2.5 years ago. So basically nothing. I'm still holding out waiting on the opportunity to get my hands on some super-rare older series just for the chance to watch them.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?
I do blind buys for older series, but since Spring 2012 I have followed most series that I am interested in, either legally or illegally. If I haven't streamed something, chances are that I'm not interested in it.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?
Not all that fussed about the HD/SD thing. The PAL speed up does frustrate me, though, especially for series which get a lot of their impact from their pacing.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?
I don't watch dubs.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?
I care about them having a schedule, but I'm not that fussed about it actually being visible. As I said, I'm generally good at working out when to watch stuff anyway. If something's going to be late, though, I need to know. And, if possible, I need to know when it will be up.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?
I think I already answered that one in the last question.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?
I see it as a bit of an added bonus. I was prepared to wait 4 days to watch each episode of shinsekai yori on Crunchyroll, so I'm prepared to wait for anything. If needs be.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?
I watched my way through just about all the stuff that interested me in CR's back catalogue in the first 6 months after subscribing. It influences what I decide to watch outside the currently airing stuff, but most of the things I watch are ongoing, so I guess it's not all that important.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?
Streaming because I don't like keeping downloaded episodes on my computer. I'm not really sure why.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?
I am reading a couple of series on mangabox, though the series on there aren't generally very good (the two series that I am reading are both the lighthearted fluff kind of thing). I'm also reading nukoduke on hanayumeonline and aizawa-san zoushoku on gangan online if Japanese sites count? (I did have more that I was reading on the latter, but if you miss one chapter on there you can't read the series anymore, and they started flooding the thing with adaptations of light novels, where I would rather read the original). Both of those are great series, by the way - particularly nukoduke. I much prefer reading stuff on paper, though.
As for opinions on the sites - mangabox has a huge great big list of series, and you have to click 'latest episode' to read the most recent chapter. The chapters are uploaded somewhat erratically, and there's no indication of what the latest chapter is without opening it, which isn't very helpful. It's aimed at mobile users and may be better on there (I read on my computer), but the page also resizes itself, and there's no way to go back to the full image on a computer, which can sometimes make the text hard to read.
Gangan Online also follows the 'only the first and most recent chapter available' system (apart from a couple of rare exceptions), but the site is updated at the same time every Thursday, they send out an email telling you what new stuff has been added, and this is also perfectly clear from the front page. If you can keep up with the chapter releases, this site is good.
Hanayumeonline is a shoujo magazine, mainly filled with your typical shoujo stuff which is of no interest to me at all. Nukoduke is a spectacular exception though, great for anyone who likes anything lighthearted or cute. The site updates every Friday, but different series will release on different weeks, and there's not usually any way of telling when the next chapter will come out. However, there's no risk of missing out - the chapters are kept on the site until they are published in a tankobon, at which point you can buy the tankobon if you want to read the missing chapters anyway.
If only there were a site with the system of hanayumeonline, the information system and user-friendliness of gangan online and the content quality of gangan joker... yeah, right.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!
Can I suggest something that is probably outside the control of the streaming companies? If so, then my suggestion is to get every series, every set of specials, every ONA. And every OVA and movie where this is possible as well.

 

[VoxPhantom]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Crunchyroll, Wakanim and Daisuki. I'd use Animax if they had anything I wanted to watch.

2. Crunchyroll anime subscription, have had it since late 2011 IIRC.

3. Not sure about this one to be honest.

4. Crunchyroll. Most licenses, uploads on a regular schedule with few issues. Great mobile app and clear options for streaming quality. Easy to navigate and track what series they're showing and when.

5. I find it annoying that I can watch some shows via my mobile on the Crunchyroll app, but not through Wakanim. I'd much rather Crunchyroll had all the shows to give me the best platform to watch them on.

6. I'd be lost without the season streaming thread on here. Otherwise I'd only know what Crunchy and Wakanim are showing.

7. Nope.

8. Wait till it comes out on DVD/BD. I don't mind waiting, did it with Kore wa Zombie s2.

9. I don't.

10. If I liked it, then sure. I'll blind buy stuff if it has a good reputation (Fate/Zero, Tiger and Bunny being examples).

11. I'd be a bit disappointed but it's not a deal breaker. I bought the Kore wa Zombie DVDs just to watch the show.

12. No opinion.

13.Very important, I like to know what days I'll be watching shows on.

14. Again, very important. If there are delays, they need to be communicated and explained.

15. Important, but not vital. As long as they have a schedule they keep to, I'm happy enough.

16. Fairly important, it's nice to have the option of watching a random older series on a whim.

17. Streaming, I don't like adding more stuff to catalogue on my HDD!

18.I'd like to use Crunchyroll but don't want to upgrade to full membership right now. I liked JManga and was disappointed when it closed last year.

19. Get your communication with fans sorted, explain delays properly. Try and stick to schedules.

 

[ilmaestro]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?

Yes. Crunchyroll, Nico Nico, and Funimation. The others I either might or have tried, but they seem bad for one or more reasons.

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?

Yes. I hate ads, I would much rather have a paid sub. At the moment there is so much value in subbing to CR's that it's probably them, but I think "best value" is less relevant than singling out services which offer below-par value.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?

I'd rather my support for particular titles was more directly recognized.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?

Crunchyroll, they have the highest number of simulcasts and the best record of putting them up as close as possible to Japanese air time.

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?

They will be the death of the UK industry going forward. It's fine for individual services to offer their own programming, but it must be done through some kind of unified front end and one subscription fee (ie. in a similar manner to the way anime is broadcast on TV in Japan). I have no interest in subscribing to five services for five individual shows.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?

As long as that site is Crunchyroll, sure. Otherwise only because of the stellar efforts on people on this forum.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?

I don't think so, but I am more willing and able than most in those regards.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?

At the moment a little from column A, a lot from column B, none from column C.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?

I don't.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?

The likelihood of me purchasing the BDs is tied solely into the quality of the series and the quality of the BD release. I'll still blind buy shows if I'm expecting them to be worth purchasing and I didn't see them while they were airing.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?

I feel disappointed for the company that isn't getting my money, sure.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?

No.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?

It's important.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?

It's very important.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?

It's very important.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?

It's mildly important, not nearly as important as their simulcast offerings but still worth consideration.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?

Streaming. Because I live in 2014 and have the internet to prove it.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?

No, but I do buy and read manga for Kindle. My recommendation is get a Kindle.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!

I would close down all the UK streaming sites and make sure everything was available to us via Crunchyroll.

 

[KingJimmeh]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)? Crunchyroll, licensed Youtube uploads

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value? Anime sub for CR. I like day and date access, so if I have to pay for it I will. That is more important that stream quality (as my wifi is still very poor)

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly? No real opinion

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why? Crunchyroll. Great catalogue of titles. Good streaming tech. Easy to get around the site.

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer? Hate it. To get access to the majority of new shows, I should not have to use multiple services. There's a reason when digital music services took off, it was those with huge libraries rather than exclusives that succeeded.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site? Only by checking on here.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)? If I want to watch a show that is available to stream legally, I generally will find a way to do so.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels? If by 'take a flight' to another region, you mean what I think you mean, then that's what I regularly do.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?
Having access to HD quality

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?
I will happily pay for any show when I believe I am getting value for money. I'm rarely interested in extras for anime, so the main concern is to have a HD copy without having to rely on my slow internet access. If the BD release is too expense, I'll happily just stick to a the stream.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?
Very much so. I don't buy DVDs anymore.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?
Nope, except for Ghibli movies, Bebop and old shows I watched in english growing up (i.e. DBZ, Big O), I will always just go for the sub.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?
Very. If fansubbers can put the effort into getting the show online quickly, a paid team should be able to. I shouldn't feel like I'm worse of for taking the legal route and supporting the creators.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?
As above.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?
As above

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?
Having a wide variety certainly helps when deciding who I should pay.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?
Streaming for weekly releases. I haven't yet paid for digital anime files, but once the season is complete, if there were to a be a discounted rate for the whole lot and the download service was reliable and DRM-free (or at least very user friendly) I could be tempted.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?
No opinion.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!
Be less insecure about sharing licenses. If you believe you have a quality product as a worthwhile price, you shouldn't have to use exclusives to force fans onto your service. CR is the top of the bunch, and you should look to be competitives. Preventing them for the streaming the same show makes you look scared of competition and that you know they are better. In the US, SAO II is available on both CR and Daisuki (the second of watch makes the newest ep available on Youtube, where they could get the largest audience.)

 

[Arbalest]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. I primarily jump between two legal streaming sites; Crunchyroll and Wakanim. I have occasionally looked towards youtube when i want some bandai stuff but outwith that, i generally keep to these two.

2. I'm subscribed to Crunchyroll only, and i take advantage of wakanims month free for each episode, but haven't subscribed to them. I generally find Crunchyroll to be the best value most of the time purely based on the sheer amount they license for a given season. While a lot of restrictions have come into play in recent seasons in regards to which regions get what, it still provides me with what i want 80% of the time. I think both subscription and ad-supported are good models to have, but it's entirely down to the execution. Having a mish-mash of both is ideal, so that they can let everyone watch what they have(be it with a weeks delay or whatever), rather than putting everything you have behind a paywall. Wakanims strategy works quite well too, as it adds another alternative with download to rent/download to own, which i do tend to make use of when i use their service.

3. I'm kinda gonna split this one into ad-supported and subscription based questions. The ad-supported side having it's revenue focused on each individual show makes sense to me. If all revenue from the adverts watched when tuning into series A goes to the creators of A, then i'm fine with that. They are getting the money made from people tuning into their show. So it balances out as fair, since all shows would get that style of coverage. In regards to subscription fees however, i think if you where to give every creator a portion of the subscription(considering it's only £5), then it would perhaps be spread too thin. It would've worked before, but not now. This is the idea in my head, so excuse me if it sounds bad. But i imagine the subscription based side working much like the sliders on the humble bundle work, but instead you judge it based on how much of series x/y/z you watch. so 20% x, 40% y and 40% z, meaning they get the respective portions of the fee. I don't mind this, honestly.

4. Again, i'll just sing the Crunchyroll praise here. They gather the most shows up in one place so that i don't have to look elsewhere for other content. Meaning i only have to maintain one subscription. While this may come across as stingy, and that "oh but this service is only £3.99", maintaining more than one subscription can be draining especially when i'm not that well off in terms of income as is.

5. I think i've said this before, but if i had my way, i'd have all streaming services placed in one single service. This means no fighting over who shows what to where and then suddenly the UK gets 5-10 series in simulcast limbo, but every series available being in one single package. While i totally understand the push to dive into the market, i feel it's done more damage than help, especially when there is a couple of UK based stream providers that forget what "simulcast" means(animax). And again, i'm money-strapped, so being able to just spend on one subscription benefits me out in the long term as well.

6. I do for the most part yeah, i don't often check out too many series at once, so it never gets too daunting for me.

7. Hmm, for the most part, no. I've always been able to access series i've planned to watch without too much of an issue.

8. I dabble in most things here. I access crunchyroll via proxy usually, so i access the US library. This usually means i can get access to everything i want to without too much of a concern. I have also waited for series to hit a DVD/BD release a few times as well, though this is less common to occur. If all else fails and a series isn't in my usual go-tos, i will generally check into it via other means. I switch to a legal stream or physical release once it's announced usually however, so it never usually stays as the alternative for long.

9. If it's licensed and available in the UK at the time, i will just buy it and wait for it to arrive. If, however it's become Out of Print/impossible to find then i will consider it, but most of the time i will look to importing instead. There was a time i'd have just checked into fansubs as my go-to, but it's far less frequent now/for specific series only now.

10. If i saw a series when it was simulcast, i'm quite likely to buy it if i enjoyed it. If i never caught it streaming, i'd probably judge it based on how much the series had interested me beforehand. I still blind-buy a few things, just not as frequently as i once did.

11. A little? I won't deny that my go-to choice at present is Blu-ray, but i'd still usually be content with DVD if it was the only other option available. There are some films/series that i just will only buy on Blu-Ray, so when the option wasn't available i imported(Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya says hi)

12. I think Space Dandy has brought in the idea of having both a dub and sub versions available at it's launch/simulcast to the front. it's certainly something i think will be profitable as time goes on, so i'd like to see it continue. There's a lot of people who still only watch anime dubbed, so this adds in an extra level of accessibility to simulcasted series. Having the back catalogue update with dubs available is a pretty good idea as well honestly.

13. Pretty important. I'd rather a service had a schedule page where every series had a set time for when it was due to update than us being kept in the dark and thinking "huh, i wonder what type x updates".

14. It depends on the delay, but most of the time i'd like for the system to be pretty solid, so delays kept to an absolute minimum.

15. I think this is pretty major, not only for the customer, but for the service. If you are to provide a service which customers want to use without fail, you need to be competitive with other sites. This means getting your simulcast out at the same time as everyone else, so that you can pick up the views you may otherwise lose out on.

16. Catalogue size is important. i like a good ratio of old to new in a service. To me it means having something to fall back on when a season doesn't provide. So if summer can't keep solid with aldnoah, zankyou no terror, etc. I could fall back to Star Driver on crunchyroll as a means to pass the season by.

17. I like a mix of both. Download to own/rent gives me the power to put focus to where my money goes, and doesn't require me to invest into a full service when all i want is just one thing. Consider it like you're picking up a DVD/BD, in this case. Subscription based is good too however when there is a large enough library that you can easily find yourself lost in amongst it all, giving the full monthly fee value.

18. I'm still to check out online manga services actually, so this one i'd be interested to get feedback on. I've considered Crunchyrolls for a while, but i haven't found their library enticing enough. Not only that, but there is this issue of sites "technically" being a week behind on everything they show off outwith monthlies because of the nature of scanlations. I'd gladly dive in for series i'd not normally cover though, and backlog titles.

19. I think i'll go with my usual. I'd want everything under one streaming service, in this case most likely Crunchyroll. I'd rather companies from the UK/US, etc all decided to let crunchy manage the streaming instead of managing individual services because it would mean i could just have one subscription instead of 2-3. It would also mean i know exactly what kind of consistency i'd get to releases and the quality. I would however suggest that they completely revamp their player, as it's still pretty awful. Just give us a buffer bar and the issue would be sorted.
I should note, that i would still suggest wakanim run with a focus on download to own in place. I think there is enough value in that structure that it can run concurrently with another streaming service.

 

[Lutga]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?

Only Crunchyroll.

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?

Yes, Crunchyroll. I dabbled with the free version of CR for a while last year but if you're watching in any volume, the ads quickly get frustrating, and considering their sub deal is such good value, upgrading is a no-brainer.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?

In my eyes, the money should go to the creators of the shows you actually watch.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?

I haven't used many of the others much, just Crunchyroll. But I've heard horror stories about the quality of their streams/buffering/late uploads. Also, most aren't available on multiple devices like iPads etc - which in 2014 is a fundamental flaw in my opinion. If you want to be treated seriously as a competitor service, get the infrastructure in place!

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?

The exclusivity thing really annoys me if I'm honest. I can see why it happens, but for the customer, it creates a crappy experience, meaning you have to subscribe to multiple services if you want to really catch everything.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?

Fairly easily - fansites and Twitter feeds do a good job of keeping people in the loop.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?

Yes. I'm avoiding watching any of the series on Wakanim - as much as I'd love to, because they're not available on iPad I can't watch them as my laptop is too old to stream shows properly.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?

I'll wait for the UK release.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?

I'd never resort to illegal methods.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?

Only if I really liked it - ie. something like Gargantia or AoT.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?

Not too much - I'd probably still buy it if I enjoyed the show.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?

More English dubs would be nice for catalogue stuff.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?

It's definitely handy - I love CR's queue system - I'd lose track of where I was with multiple shows otherwise.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?

Delays are an instant killer for me. If you're charging people to watch your shows, you need a prompt, professional service - no excuses.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?

Important - it's just unfair otherwise.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?

Definitely important - even more so if you're subscribing. One of the best perks to CR is the size of its catalogue. There are loads of shows from the last few seasons I'm still checking out.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?

Streaming - it's quicker, easier and means I don't need to use up hard drive space. If I wanted to 'own', I'd buy the physical option.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?

Not really. I looked over CR's manga offering but they didn't really have anything I wanted. I mainly just buy digital manga on Kindle now.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!

Consolidate the market. Get rid of the services that can't hack it and get all the titles on one service so you only have to pay one subscription fee.

 

[Peachy]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?

- Crunchyroll & Netflix (via proxy)

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?

- Crunchyroll & Netflix. Prefer paying to get rid of ads. Netflix is the better one as Anime is just one of the many types of media.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?

- I had no idea this was the case. I would prefer the majority of the payment to do towards the company of the show I watch/watched,

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?

- Netflix I guess? I have issues with Crunchyroll streaming...

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?

- I'd rather have one single place where I could watch shows, rather than pay for multiple services.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?

- Yes, thanks to this forum actually.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?

- No because I'll find the means to watch it somehow.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?

- Depends on how much I want to watch it really. I go into CR & Netflix via proxy to get into the US library so I tend not to have too much trouble. Otherwise, I'll wait on reviews and depending on those, I'll pick up a physical release.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?

Never done this.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?

It depends on how much I enjoyed the show, if I liked it and the release is nice, I'll get it.
Reviews and how much it appeals to me are what I rely on if I've never seen the show.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?

- Yes.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?

- Not for me personally, I have no need for dubs but for people who prefer them, sure! It'll probably provide easier access for some people too.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?

- Very important. I always set time aside to watch currently airing shows so if my bloody routine gets messed with ...grrr.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?

- See Q13 Answer.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?

- Important, if the US get it at a certain time, I don't see why us in the UK shouldn't..

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?

- Very!

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?

- Hmm.. DTO just because it's easier to watch and you won't get any sudden streaming issues (looking at you Crunchyroll)

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?

- I don't but am interested.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!

Nothing to say to this.

 

[Demelza]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)? I started off using Crunchyroll and overall always use them where I can. I also use Wakanim on a regular basis (I don't seem to have the same problems with it that others do), and I use Daisuki sometimes mostly due to Crunchyroll not having the subs for Black Butler this season. I've given Animax a shot and now just refuse to accept it exists. I've watched stuff on YouTube as well if it officially goes up, the only services I haven't used are Viewster and Nico Nico.


2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?


I pay for Crunchyroll and that's about it currently, mostly because I pay for the big all access tag because I wanted access to the manga (and they've yet to work out just an anime and manga plan below all access). My partner subs to Netflix so I just use his sub if I want to watch anime on there. I like having the option to sub to a service, but at the same time I like an ad-supported option as well if I can't really afford it and when everything is split across so many services I really can't afford to sub to everyone. Plus that gives the services the chance to prove their ability before I pay them money. Animax (for their back catalogue more than current season shows) and Crunchyroll offer the best value for their basic sub prices, and Wakanim are very fairly priced for what they do.


3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly? I like how Crunchyroll handle things here, I don't think there is a fair way to split the money but at least they have an idea which makes sense and can work.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why? Crunchyroll is undoubtedly the best service in my opinion, the thing just works. My anime is going up on x day and at x time? eight out of ten times it will be there waiting for me on the dot with no fuss and the times the shows aren't up it's normally for good reason and sorted out pretty quickly. Why no one else can offer a service with as few problems as Crunchy still baffles me... Wakanim rates very highly in my opinion as well. It's good quality streaming and with the DTO model it has come into the market with the intent of offering something different. I know it's still finding its feet and it does has problems with delays, but I don't find myself directing any angry at them like I would Animax. Wakanim make sure to explain what's going on and why they're having problems, I can't help but have faith in them.


5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?
I honestly hate it. I'd much rather have the anime across all the different services and maybe with the exception of a couple of shows, I want the choice to watch the shows where I want to. Anything that goes to Animax I just consider not watchable here. I don't mind stuff being split across all the services, but give every service the same shows so that I can just use Crunchyroll and get it over with. If you want to draw users in then offer something different like Wakanim does, don't rely on having shows that Crunchy doesn't.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site? I struggle with this unless it's a service I use a lot. Generally I just resort to writing a long note about what's where, or use the thread we have here about what's streaming to the UK.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)? Nope, can't say I've ever had that issue.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels? Heh, I've had that issue with Blue Spring Ride this season. I have a lot of friends in the US and so on that watch the show and talk about it and I want to join in, so I won't wait on a DVD/BD release which might never come. I'll normally either go down a illegal channel, or take a flight to the US. I'll buy the show if it's released here on DVD/BD though, just to support it considering I wasn't given the option the original time around.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK? If it's licensed and available here then I'll buy/stream it here, I generally won't resort to illegal methods otherwise.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming? Depends on the series, if it's a good series then I'm very likely to buy the series so I can own it. If I've never had the chance to see it streaming I'm a bit more reluctant to put money down on it unless it was reviewed really well, and if it's reviewed well then the series is likely to have streamed anyway so it's a bit of a nonissue.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed? Not really, HD isn't hugely important to me. I'd be happy just to own it one way or another.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)? Eh, I don't care about dubs so I'm happy with what we're given now.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available? Extremely important to me, but mostly only at the beginning of the season. After three or four episodes I generally remember when anything of interest is coming out anyways.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays? Extremely important, especially if the delays end up being weekend long (See Wakanim and their problems with Tokyo Ghouls and Terror in Resonance).

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)? Once again this is extremely important due to the comments I made above about having friends outside of the UK who are seeing the shows on time and are discussing them and wanting to discuss them with me too.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue? It's not that important to me, but it depends on the shows in said catalogue. If it's shows already released in the UK then I'm likely to have already seen them, if they haven't been released in the UK and they're older shows anyway then it makes me question the overall quality of them. Animax has a pretty good catalogue, but it's all stuff I've seen before so it doesn't interest me at all. Crunchyroll has solid and lesser known series that perhaps may never be properly released but are worth my time anyway.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason? I prefer streaming overall, but I like the idea of DTO for certain shows so my opinion differs quite often.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga? Currently I use MangaBox, Crunchyroll, Weekly Jump, and ComicWalker. I've followed a lot of Jump titles for years so I was really happy when they brought it over. I pay for a monthly membership and I think it's a fair price. It works out 69p an issue if I remember correctly, which for the big three series and over 150 pages of content a week I'm really happy to pay.

MangaBox releases a collection of manga a day, they started at chapter one for every series and release a chapter a week (or every other week depending on the series). It's a free app, and with the ride range of titles on offer I'd have been really happy to pay for it.

Crunchyroll offer a solid collection of manga, both new and old. I started paying for it for AoT and Fairy Tail, but I've quickly fallen in love with a lot of the stuff they offer and follow a great deal weekly now. The app for iOS is actually usable since they upgraded it to version 2 as well, it actually tracks the chapters I've read now!

ComicWalker is again a free service with some interesting titles on offer, it doesn't really update very often though.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want! Spread the shows out so that I can watch them where I want. That would honestly solve every issue I've ever had with the service. (Also a iOS app from Wakanim would be welcomed as well <3)

 

[Just Passing Through]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?

Yes, I've used Crunchyroll, Wakanam Animax, Daisuki and Youtube, although this season I'm going off streaming even though I have Viewster on my Smart TV. I'm tired of peering at my small laptop screen to watch this stuff, and my laptop started having audio issues. And I really don't have time for more than a couple titles. Not that long ago I was streaming some twenty titles a week on schedule. Now it's just three.

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?

For me streaming is a try before you buy option. I want the shows I like on hard copy, optical media, which still remain mine after the licenses lapse, the titles get deleted, not vanish once the servers are switched off. I don't pay for subscriptions, I put that money towards DVDs and Blu-rays. Same way I don't have Sky or Virgin, but I have Freesat and Freeview. TV license plus electricty, and broadband fees plus electricity, the most I'm happy spending on stuff I can't own.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?

Doesn't make a difference to me. If I watch something on ITV, I don't expect the adverts during the programme that I watch to contribute to that programme alone, but if it works for CR, all is good. Actually I mute the ads, or change channel on commercial tV anyway when the ads come on.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?

Crunchyroll, for every reason. They have the lion's share of the shows, they've recently increased their lowest quality subscription free stream to 480 resolution. The shows stay up and watchable by all in the most part for the length of the licence, not just two weeks. The subtitles are acceptable, the site design is user friendly, with personal queues, remembering the last episode watched, or where you stopped watching if halfway, it's easy to search and navigate, it's fast and generally problem free, its SD streams look better than Animax's HD streams. Etc Etc Etc

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?

It sucks. I don't have the time or the wherewithal to know what is on where. Same thing happened to me with TV, when everything was on 4 channels, I knew when things were on and planned to watch them accordingly. I used to watch over 20 hours of week of television. Now I have access to 100 channels on Freesat and Freeview. I watch maybe 2 hours of broadcast TV a week. If everything was on one service, or all services had access to all shows, I could just choose the one I liked and watch everything there, give it all to Crunchyroll

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?

As mentioned, this is a factor that's putting me off streamed anime

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?

Repeatedly, and especially when Funimation geolocked out the UK

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?

I used to be more determined to watch shows on line at first, especially pre-CR legality, and I illegal meansed quite a few titles that got geo locked, or just had poor quality streams, I had no patience for Manga's fail for FMA Brotherhood and Gurren Lagann back in the day. Titles like Eden of the East, and Baccano were locked out of the UK, and I just had to watch them. Funi locked Baccano (and the rest of their catalogue) after ep 2. If I'd only seen 2 eps of Baccano, I would have ditched it. I watched the whole series illicitly, and then bought the Funi release on DVD. And then I bought the Aniplex Blu-ray. Michiko and Hatchin never got a legal simulcast, but I other meansed that, and then bought the discs. 'Thankfully' for my ethics, a lot more of anime is legally streamed now, and really good shows are getting somewhat rarer. There aren't many shows that don't get an English language streaming license. I doubt today I'd have to other means something like the Stratos 4 OVAs as I once did.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?

Availablility is in the eye of the downloader. As mentioned, Manga streaming GL as dub only and missing an episode of FMA:B sent me headlong to the dark underworld of fansub streams. This season Animax failed to put Ping Pong episode 7 up for free to stream. A couple of years ago, I would have other meansed it. But I'm going off the whole streaming this year.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?

As I said, it's try before you buy, and in recent years a lot of my purchasing choices have been dictated by legal streams. I still do try the occasional review informed blind purchase. And since I'm cutting down on streaming, it might happen more often in the future (back to the old days) Thinking back on pre-streaming days, and buying a show based on reviews alone, a high proportion of the shows I chose were really high quality. Maybe streaming isn't as necessary as it seems to buying a show, especially as second view let down still happens. The Tower of Druaga wasn't as good the second time around.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?

I've money set aside for the day that Nichijou, Gosick, and Usagi Drop get Region B Blu-rays

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?

Sub fan so it doesn't bother me, and dubs are expensive to do for all but the sure things. Multilingual subs should be easy enough though.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?

Not bothered with a CR schedule as I get notified by e-mail when my queue updates. But without that level of functionality a schedule is essential, as is keeping to it.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?

Simulcast! Note the Simul bit.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?

If you can't do this much, quit streaming. Let someone who can, do it instead.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?

Yay, Crunchyroll!

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?

I prefer download to own, when it's a distro who gets the title, authors and creates a glass master with which to press DVDs and Blu-rays, packages them, puts artwork on, and sells them in shops or online, and I download them into a carrier bag or via a postal service, and store them on a on shelf. Paying for a file on a hard drive that could be rendered useless by an HD crash, or DRM that could kill the file when a server somewhere is switched off, or won't let you watch it on any device but that which you downloaded it to. You really want to pay money for that? Incidentally, has anyone used Wakanim's free download option? Anyone? I'll stick to free streaming thank you.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?

No

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!

GIVE IT ALL TO CRUNCHYROLL! And get rid of geolocks

 

[Mangaranga]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?
I use Netflix and CR, albeit not for Anime.

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?
Crunchyroll - For the occasional J Drama. Not for anime though because a) The web player is ****, b) The PS3 app seems to result in better video streaming but crap sound, and c) I like my fancy typesetting and OP/ED translations.
CR also occasionally can't encode for ****. Look at Akame Ga Kill for example.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?
That sounds like a pretty fair model. To some extent you know where your money is going - however how much of an episode do you have to watch before any money goes back to the Licensor? What if you like watching half and then watching the other half later?

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?
I've at some point tried CR, Daisuke, Wakanim, Netflix, Animax and Viewster (briefly). CR works the best for anime in the UK, but Netflix is overall the better service. Animax and Daisuke are by far the worst.

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?
It's an absolutely retarded idea. You are ultimately blocked from watching a show CR has for AUS/US just because another shittier service like Animax picks it up? No.
Aniplex of America seem to have had a better idea this season by shoving their new shows on multiple services without locking them to any in particular, or having some stupid rule where everyone but one site latecasts.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?
If the title is either DVD only or picked up by a ****** distributor like Khazi. I downloaded Magi but never got past episode 7ish. I'm still waiting on Aniplex of America to do a BD set.
99% of the time I just import JP/US releases anyway, so whether a title is licensed for the UK makes no difference to me. If I know a title is coming soonish I'll also wait most of the time. Tis' why I've not yet seen Hal and Patema Inverted for example.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?
I'd say most of the time I buy the home video release of a title I watched as it aired in Japan. Whether I blind buy or not generally depends on the general opinion of a show, and whether it actually looks interesting.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?
DVD only of a native HD show = no buy = Sub BD rips.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?
Eh, I'm not really bothered. More experiments like Space Dandy would be nice - especially if they were actually good dubs too, although I'm putting Dandy being simul-dubbed down to the nature of the show.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?
That's one of the things I liked about CR I suppose. It's nice, but not something I really need since I usually tend to remember when a show comes out.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?
Latecasting is unacceptable. A simulcast is not a simulcast if it's put up hours/days late. It's also unacceptable that certain services like Animax constantly latecast when everyone else gets things up on time.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!
Don't really have anything to suggest here. I don't think there's anything which could be said to the Japanese to make things as easy and convenient as what downloads offer.

 

[ayase]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

Interesting to read people's replies even if there are hardly any questions I can answer, because I still haven't gotten into streaming and don't watch anything on release. Simulcasts hold little value to me because even if I think anew show looks good, it'll probably take me at least until the discs come out to watch it. The quality of streaming (even on Netflix which I currently have access to) still seems low compared to the Blu-ray quality I've gotten used to - And it must be, there's surely no way streaming could deliver the same bit rates. But I'll certainly give some on Anime Limited's titles a try if they're going to be putting them up.

I do however quite like the idea of download to own. Because I live in 2014 and have the hard drive to prove it.

 

[Mangaranga]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

I do however quite like the idea of download to own. Because I live in 2014 and have the hard drive to prove it.

Shouldn't that be Hard Drives if you truly live in 2014?

 

[ayase]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

I do however quite like the idea of download to own. Because I live in 2014 and have the hard drive to prove it.

Shouldn't that be Hard Drives if you truly live in 2014?

Well yeah, but only one of them houses my media. I probably have about... twelve or so kicking about dating from 1995-Present.

 

[ilmaestro]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

lol @ people with mechanical hard drives thinking they live in 2014.

 

[GolGotha]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?

I have used all of them, except Animax. I have been tempted to pick up a six month subscription from them as it's been reduced to about £3 a month.

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value?

I have a premium account with Crunchyroll. I don't mind adverts on other services, such as Wakanim, as I understand that's why the videos are free, but I also don't mind paying extra to gain access to the shows earlier, as long as they have a decent back catalog - ie, I wouldn't pay for Wakanim now, but if Anime Limited uploaded all their catalog titles I would most probably subscribe.

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?

To be perfectly honest, I hadn't really thought about this in great depth.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why?

Probably Crunchyroll for their large catalog of titles.

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer?

I think, the more places the services are available the better as they have more chance of introducing more people to the medium, and potentially supporting the home releases.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site?

Yes, but I do keep a record of when shows air on my calender.

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)?

No, but my brother once forgot about the limit on Wakanim and was unable to finish Space Dandy. Thankfully I have pre ordered it, so that should keep him from finishing it on other websites....

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels?

I will wait until the home release.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK?

I don't.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming?

If I really liked the show, it's an instant pre order. If I thought it average, then I will probably wait for the complete series to come out. I had reduced the amount of blind buys, until Anime Limited came along. The amount of care they put into their releases makes me want to support them all, even if I haven't heard of them before.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed?

I understand that some titles will not sell enough copies on blu-ray, to make it worth while, but hopefully we'll see more cases of the distributor releasing copies at a later date due to demand.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)?

It would be nice if they were added to things such as Netflix, as it seems a high percentage of the UK audience watches anime dubbed. As for Space Dandy, I'm not sure that a lot of titles would be popular enough to warrant the same treatment.

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available?

It's pretty important, in fact it should be a basic requirement.

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays?

Pretty important, but if we are made aware in advance then I don't mind waiting.

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)?

I'm not too bothered about this, except when the English subtitles are reading in one country, but not another English speaking country.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue?

I find that when introducing anime fans to legal streaming, especially new anime fans, it's very important.

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason?

Streaming, probably just out of habit.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga?

I don't as I only have an anime subscription with crunchyroll, but I have been tempted to upgrade it to the all access one, in order to read manga. I would like to see it act in a similar service to the anime, where free users can read the older chapters and are made to wait to read the latest chapters, where as people with manga subscriptions can read them as they are published.

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want!

I would like to see other UK distributors making their cataloges available for streaming, as well as companies like Crunchyroll expanding their cataloge with older shows and making the content available in more countries.

 

[st_owly (witch)]

Re: Anime streaming and simulcasts: what do they mean to you

1. Do you use any legal anime streaming services (e.g. Crunchyroll, Wakanim, Animax UK, Daisuki, Viewster, Netflix, Nico Nico, the occasional legal uploads on YouTube etc.)?
I currently use CR, Wakanim and Niconico. I have used Animax, Daisuki and YouTube in the past. I stopped using Animax because they're terrible and I don't want to support them, whereas YT and Daisuki currently have nothing I'm interested in. I've considered Netflix, but I'd mainly be subscribing for their TV content. Anime would just be a bonus

2. Do you have a paid subscription to any of them? What are your thoughts on paid subscriptions versus ad-supported business models, and which subscription fee is the best value? I have a paid subscription to CR. If you buy it during the Black Friday sale, it's even better value than normal. Their catalogue is also the biggest and they have the most stuff I'm interested in, even more so if I use a proxy to fake being in the US. Animax isn't worth a penny, and I just watch Wakanim's free service. I think a mix of both models is the best way forward, as some people simply can't afford a subscription. I hate it when free services offer limited time free viewing. I think that it just puts people off if they miss a few episodes, and rather than subscribe, they'll just go and download them. coughAnimaxcough

3. Crunchyroll uses a system which splits its revenue between the titles people actually watch, so if you sign up and only watch Gintama, all of the share of your subscription which goes to the creators will go to companies involved with Gintama. According to reports, the other services tend to split the funds differently depending on individual license contracts. What do you think about this? How do you think the payments should be split, most fairly?
I didn't actually know that. That's quite a good idea, as it means you can directly support the shows you like, and conversely, you then don't have to support the ones you think are crap. Although, splitting revenues evenly means more obscure shows have a better chance, I guess? I think I prefer CR's system though.

4. Which service(s) do you consider the best, and why? Crunchyroll, by far. Animax are so incompetent it'd be hilarious if it wasn't so painful and retrograde for streaming here. If they weren't backed by a big corporation they'd have gone down the shitter by down. CR announces delays, keeps to a regular schedule and has the best catalogue. Wakanim needs to get stuff up more regularly, and stop blocking free users after 2 weeks. Their DTO, whilst of no interest to me, is an excellent innovation

5. In the UK, we have an unusual arrangement where most of our simulcasts are completely exclusive to one service; in Japan and the US the local distributors try to spread them out where possible. This obviously has advantages for the UK streaming companies as it provides a reason for people to (be forced to) visit their platform, but how do you feel about these arrangements, as a customer? Streaming services are always competing against fansubs. If their service slips, people will just go back to downloading stuff, so there's always competition, even if that competition isn't legal.

6. Do you find it easy to keep up with which series is airing on which site? Only thanks to the threads on here

7. Have you ever missed out on a series because it's only available on a site you can't use (e.g. for technical reasons, as some only support certain platforms)? Nope, anything I can't stream I download in a format I can use. I've not really had this problem though as I do all of my streaming to my laptop. Phone screen is too small to watch stuff on and I don't have a useable console.

8. If something isn't licensed for a simulcast in the UK, and you really want to watch it, what do you do? Miss out until the DVD/BD release, 'take a flight' to another region like the US, or resort to illegal distribution channels? Depends how much I want to watch it. If it's on CR, I'll just watch it via a proxy service, if it's not, I'll download it. If I like something I've downloaded, I'll make sure to support the physical release.

9. What makes you resort to illegal methods even when a series is licensed and available in the UK? Poor release quality is the main one, but so is cost. I'll normally import if I can afford to though. The best example for me here is One Piece. There is no legal way to watch it here aside from buying the DVDs, (although CR proxy is now an option) and quite frankly I just cannot afford to buy, and don't have the space for, a 600+ episode series, which I'll most likely only watch once as well.

10. How likely are you to buy the DVD/BD of a series if you saw it streaming? What if you never had the chance to see it streaming? Depends entirely on how much I enjoyed it. My general rule is that if I feel I enjoyed something enough to want to watch it again, I try and buy the physical release. With stuff I've not had a chance to see, but want to, I'll wait till it's either MVM's DOTW/find it at a price I deem acceptable.

11. If you saw a series online in HD and the home video version is only available on DVD, do you feel disappointed? Not really. I'm not a massive videophile.

12. Do you wish there were more multilingual streams available (including English dubs for catalogue titles and experiments such as Space Dandy)? Not for me personally. I don't really care for dubs, though it would be nice if more were available streaming for those that do like them

13. How important is it to you that streaming services keep a schedule showing when content will be available? Extremely

14. How important is it to you that streaming services make content available without sudden delays? Extremely. Occasional delays with explanation are OK though

15. How important is it to you that simulcasts are released on the same day that they go up in other regions (or at least in other English-speaking regions)? Extremely.

16. A couple of the streaming services have large back catalogues of older titles on offer. When you're picking a service to subscribe to, how important is the size of their catalogue? Quality over quantity. Animax's back catalogue is crap compared to CR's IMO, and another disincentive to subscribe

17. Do you prefer streaming or download-to-own (e.g. Wakanim, iTunes)? Any particular reason? If I'm paying money, I want a physical item to hold in my hands. If I'm going to pay for digital content, I'd rather pay for unlimited streaming than per episode.

18. Do you use legal online manga services (e.g. Viz's SJ, Renta, Crunchyroll)? What do you think of them? As many aren't documented well, do you have any recommendations for other forum users who might not know about legal online manga? I have a Shonen Jump subscription and CR Manga as part of my subscription. I much prefer reading paper books though so I don't use them much

19. If you had the chance to make a suggestion to improve the current streaming situation here, what would it be? You can suggest more than one thing if you want! Kill Animax with fire, and get their titles unlocked to us on CR. Give Viz Media Europe a stern talking to and get them to stop putting their titles on there. Stop Funi getting the UK rights to stream things then doing nothing with them. Also, get a legal stream of One Piece over here. Wakanim need to stop time limiting their free content as well.